The United States Igaming Revenue Report — March 2020

April 17, 2020 5:00 PM
  • Deke Castleman, CDC Gaming Reports
April 17, 2020 5:00 PM
  • Deke Castleman, CDC Gaming Reports

An overview of igaming revenue in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, the three states where igaming has launched in the U.S.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s igaming revenues jumped to $24.27 million in March amid the shutdown of the state’s 12 brick-and-mortar casinos starting on March 16. Online operations weren’t subject to the shutdown and posted a 24.5% increase over February’s $19.49 million.

Online slot play produced a $12.35 million win for the seven casinos that offer igaming, while table-game revenues totaled $8.78 million. Slot play generated 22.1% more revenue compared to February, though the increase in table-game revenues was only 8.5%. Mount Airy, the only casino in the state that sponsors online poker, raked $3.13 million, a major 42% increase over February.

Rivers Casino in Philadelphia was the big winner in Pennsylvania’s igaming space, earning $6.76 million, nearly 28% of the state’s total online win.

Altogether, igaming revenues accounted for 15.8% of Pennsylvania’s total win from all sources, up 9.4% over February. Of course, with the casinos closed for half the month, the brick-and-mortar win was down 49.6% from February and 51.5% from March 2019.

Tax revenue generated from Internet gambling during March was $8.57 million, 21% higher than February.

New Jersey

It was essentially the same story percentage-wise, though more than double the volume, in New Jersey, where casinos also shut down en masse on March 16.

Internet gambling win was $64.82 million, a 20% increase over February and 39.6% of the Garden State’s total gaming revenues for the month, making igaming’s share more than twice as much as February.

The Golden Nugget was by far the biggest beneficiary of igaming action with $23.3 million, up just under 15% over February and a 63.8% increase over March 2019.

Year to date, igaming’s percentage of total gaming revenue in New Jersey is 22.8% compared to 18.2% last month. March’s igaming win easily eclipsed the previous monthly revenue record, set in January 2020, of $55 million.

Delaware

The third and smallest state with igaming also posted big increases over the previous month after its three casinos shut down in unison with New Jersey’s and Pennsylvania’s on March 16.

Delaware posted an igaming win for March of $514k, 58.5% higher than February’s $325k. Video lottery games generated the greatest revenue at nearly $320k, followed by online table games at $138k and $58k for online poker rake and fees. It was Delaware’s seventh biggest month for online poker since the game was launched in 2013; Delaware’s first quarter 2020 was its third largest for online poker.

National

Total igaming revenue for March 2020 in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware added up to $89.6 million, a 20% increase over February’s $71.7 million.

With the mass casino shutdowns continuing through April and possibly into May, igaming numbers, particularly poker, are sure to continue their major trend upward.